1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigerator evaporator, and more particularly to a refrigerator evaporator and method of manufacturing a refrigerator evaporator of both a more improved structure and manufacturing process than the conventional one using plastic materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, the refrigerator as an appliance for storing and keeping stuff such as food under low temperatures roughly consists of a storage compartment and a cooling compartment. This type of a refrigerator can be classified into four kinds according to the cooling methods: an ice refrigerator, in which a lump of ice is put on an upper part of the storage compartment to cool down inside thereof; an electric refrigerator, in which gaseous Freon is condensed and transferred to a condenser to be liquefied by discharging heat; a gas refrigerator employing an absorption freezer, which uses ammonia aqueous solution as a refrigerant; and an electronic refrigerator utilizing a Peltier element for the purposes of both cooling and heating the food according to the direction of electric current.
An evaporator is essential to any types of refrigerator, regardless of the kinds of refrigerant to be used, for exchanging latent heat with existent heat by means of evaporation of the refrigerant. Such a conventional refrigerator evaporator has been manufactured by utilizing metals such as copper or aluminum in consideration of the problems in heat exchanging efficiency and pressure endurance, etc. The following is an explanation of the method of manufacturing the conventional refrigerator evaporator made with reference to the accompanying drawings FIGS. 1A and 1B.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view illustrating the heat exchange plate used in the conventional refrigerator evaporator.
Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, refrigerant pipes 1a, 1b are first extruded by means of metal (e.g., copper, aluminum, etc.). Fins 2a, 2b are then manufactured by molding a metal panel.
Metal refrigerant pipes 1a, 1b are inserted into the fins 2a and 2b and elongated to a desired length. The metal refrigerant pipes 1a, 1b are mechanically engaged with the fins 2a, 2b. 
The body incorporating the refrigerant pipes 1a, 1b into the fins 2a, 2b is the heat exchange plate 3.
And, a heat exchange plate 3 is bent in a series of xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d shapes or in the shape of a serpent to be completed as the heat exchanger.
However, since most of the refrigerator evaporator including the ones described above are composed of metal of high thermal conductivity and strength, there are some problems.
First, employing metal substance results in a relatively high material cost of the refrigerator evaporator, thereby elevating the cost of a refrigerator including a heat exchanger.
Second, employing a metal substance also requires a more complicated manufacturing process than employing a non-metal substance, thereby resulting in a high processing cost. Further, the high weight of the metal evaporator causes a problem in transportation.
Third, employing a metal substance lowers recyclability and durability of the product.
Fourth, employing a metal substance impedes modification of the design of the product.
To resolve the conventional problem described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a refrigerator evaporator having a plurality of pipes and fins which is manufactured by injection molding with plastics.
To accomplish the object, the refrigerator evaporator according to the present invention comprises a heat exchanger having a plurality of pipes for circulating a refrigerant and a plurality of fins molded in a series of xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d shapes for mechanically engaging the plurality of pipes; a first header positioned at a first bending section formed by the heat exchanger molded in a series of xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d shapes and having an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe for a refrigerant, and the first header comprises a plurality of inlet tanks, outlet tanks, return tanks and brackets for preventing distortion of the heat exchanger; and a second header engaged with a second bending section positioned corresponding to the first header, characterized in that the heat exchanger, first header and second header are integrated in plastics.
The method of manufacturing the refrigerator evaporator to achieve an object of the present invention comprises the steps of: forming a heat exchanger by molding pipes and fins with a plastic panel and molding the pipes and fins in a series of xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d shapes; inserting the first bending section formed by molding the heat exchanger in a series of xe2x80x9cSxe2x80x9d shapes into a mold body for forming a header cap; manufacturing a first header cap by injecting melted plastic material into the mold main body under the state of covering the mold main body with a molding cap; and engaging the first header cap with the main body of the first header having a molding inlet pipe and an outlet pipe of the refrigerant; manufacturing a second header cap by inserting a second bending section of the heat exchanger into the mold main body for manufacturing the first header cap, and by injecting the plastic melting body into the melted plastic material under the state of covering the mold main body with a mold cap; and engaging the second header cap with the second header main body.